L is for LAKE MICHIGAN #AtoZChallenge

For this year's challenge, my theme is The Fun in Writing. Each of my 26 posts for April is aimed at illustrating fun parts of an author's day. A writer doesn't only write. Creating a story or an essay requires research, revision, editing, and lots and lots of coffee and chocolate.

L is for LAKE MICHIGAN

The prevailing wisdom for writers is to “write what you know.” I was born and raised in a small town which extends seven miles into Lake Michigan and is known as “the coolest spot in Wisconsin.” The reflection of sun and moonlight on the pristine waters was visible from the long expanse of beaches along the state’s eastern shore. From the lake’s depths, fishermen pulled an endless supply of fish that had populated this Great Lake since its formation during the glacial age. 

What simple pleasures we enjoyed in our youth at the lake, building sand castles and drifting with lapping waves, devouring concession stand hot dogs for lunch, and contending with hot sand between the toes. 

 

My first swimming lesson, many, many years ago!

Thanks, Dad.

Such experiences are the fodder for enticing stories and voluptuous poetry. Reliving these times is a way to savor The Fun in Writing. Innocent memories, of course, are distorted by the adult writer’s mind after consuming too much caffeine. Lapping waves become treacherous tides. Moonlight over the water reflects instead the sinister flash of a gun. 

Imagination is a gift all humans should cultivate, along with a side of humor. And there’s nothing wrong with serving up a helping of fun with that caffeine, be it from coffee or chocolate.

 

HELP YOURSELF!

 

 

 

Choosing Between Coffee and Chocolate

Is it fair to ask you to choose between two simple and relatives inexpensive caffeine pleasures, coffee and chocolate? I didn’t think so.

While reading the morning newspaper on Kindle, I enjoy two cups of freshly brewed coffee, usually 10% Kona but this week 100% Molokai dark roast. For me, beginning the day slowly is sort of a pleasant, guilt-free ritual. For years, I awoke to a clanging alarm clock, rushed through breakfast and morning tasks, then traveled to my place of work, whether across town, miles down the highway, or merely a few short blocks' walk. It was the choice I made when I was sixteen years old and continued to make for decades. Now that I can stay home and compile stories at my own pace, another choice freely made, I appreciate the more relaxed lifestyle.

Recently, I attended an informal talk given at the Duty-Free Shop in Waikiki by an author and coffee aficionado. Shawn Steiman earned his doctorate in Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences at the University of Hawai‘i. One of his comments, something to the effect that coffee opens the mind and clarifies thinking, stuck with me. Could this reasoning apply to my writing? It was an idea worth some thought.

It isn’t necessary for me to have a clear idea of what I want to express when I first transform my thoughts into written words, I reasoned. But once the thoughts are on paper, I need to convert those ideas into a comprehensible format for others to easily understand. The mystery within a novel should not remain a mystery after the reader finishes the story. If I understood Shawn correctly, a cup of coffee, once consumed, should open my mind and give me the ability to clarify important details.

Yes, I know, the writing process still requires that I bring all the tools with me to the coffee table.

Shawn’s book, The Hawai‘i Coffee Book - A Gourmet’s Guide from Kona to
Kaua‘i also peaked my interest in coffee production and the diverse varieties

of coffees grown here in the islands. Some are even described as having a “chocolate character” so there really is no need to choose between coffee and chocolate. You can have your chocolate, and drink it too.

Knowing your brain needs stimulation to function properly, and assuming you have eaten all your vegetables, could you make a choice between that cuppa joe and a chunk of Belgian chocolate?

Click on the link below to check out Shawn Steiman's book:
The Hawai’i Coffee Book